Bones shattered.

Noise coalesced into a supernova.

It never stopped.

Always played.

One breath.

It all moves away.

Nova lunged out of the squishy mattress and into the dim dark. Her shift clock showed a different time within the same confines of the loop, but with her in a different space. Nova pressed her hand against it, caressing time's promise. Her confusion morphed with the soft tick within the bedroom of their dorm. I'm... in our room? Did Neo really— Nova twisted to the bed across from her.

Curled under the blankets, Neo slept, soundly and softly.

Stars. He did.

Nova got out of bed to peek out the reinforced window. Nebulous clouds stretched from star to distant star. It painted and sprayed the void canvas with light. Her multitude of questions fell silent on her lips as she pressed her brow against the glass to feel the cold. Space danced with a sense of freedom and newfound purpose. Nova stumbled to the wash station to clean herself off and wake herself up from the lie. Disbelief stabbed her heart when it remained, and she rushed over to the kitchenette to grab a water capsule and drown in water.

Nova dragged her hands through her hair. Oh, stars. Neo vaporized himself and the monster. I'm not at the briefing.

The loop changed.

It had changed with a single drop of the butterfly's broken wing.

Too much to hope for. Too much to try again. Clocks ticked on, but she never remembered this part.

Remember my questions, for me?

One loop left nothing but atoms, and she shuffled back into their bedroom, where he breathed and lived. Her words from before pierced her heart, when she had only wanted to let out the pent up rage before continuing forward.

I never meant for you to hear that.

A couple hours before the first event, the first constant.

The briefing.

He didn't break the loop. He... gave me time.

Too much for her hope, but it swelled against her scorched lungs. "Stars," she whispered and left him to shuffle through his desk to search for the sample. Confusion settled on her brow when it was nowhere to be found. Nova logged onto her terminal to make sense of the shift and checked the status of her droid.

Active. Locked onto an anomaly.

Neo, what did you do? What did you see? You don't remember, but another part of you, separated from you, does. Nova sat there with her mixture of doubt and hope. Many questions bubbled to join the one leaving the joyful taste on her lips, sweet as summer. I understand. I thought I'd been 'waking up' in the briefing, but that wasn't it. I wasn't remembering anything before that.

One simple truth.

The loop can be broken.

It almost escaped her with a sobbing laugh.

It's possible.

You believed me when you told me it wasn't impossible, and you meant every single word. How many loops have I been through now? Nova pushed herself to her feet, lighter than air when she entered the bedroom once more, going to his side. You told me more than once that you believed me, that I could do this. I wish you could remember. I wish I could repeat conversations over and over. I'll find a way. If this can be broken, I can save you.

Nova loomed over him to hug him tight. "You're nuts, but you're a genius."

In the silence, she stopped when his deep breathing stilled. He twisted around to face her with a confused, weary squint. "Thanks?" he muttered. "Why the compliment?"

Still, you don't remember... just like you thought you wouldn't.

He sat up and brushed his arm across his brow. "Hm... what shift is it?" He grasped for his schedule on the wall, but she frowned at his trembling fingers. "Briefing is in a couple hours." He stifled a yawn behind his arm. "You're up early."

"I got woken up. I'm sorry for disturbing you."

His shoulders slumped into a tired shrug. "I mean, I have to get up anyway. You did me a favour. I probably would've slept in if given the chance." He got out of bed. "I'm going to be heading to the anomaly lab soon before coming back to prepare for the briefing."

I have more time.

Nova got out of his way as he waved and headed into the wash station.

It was almost too much.

Too much of a change.

Nova sat down at her desk to study her droid as it registered several anomalies. Everything around it shifted in fractal frequencies. Did it work? Was the monster truly vaporized? And what about him? I can't say for sure, and until I know more I'm going to stay cautious. Nova waited for Neo to clean up and dress, and she turned around when he left the wash station in his work clothes.

"I didn't take two hours this time," he joked and rubbed his face with the towel. "Water is running hot for you."

Nova took her chance, never given one to clean herself of the grime of the past loops. Uncertainty gripped her legs as she tested the water after Neo left the dial on her preferred temperature. Out of her uniform pajamas, she waited for steam before putting it on the rack.

I really have time for this?

Nova stepped into the shower capsule to clean the nothing off herself. Water slicked down the strands of her black hair and across her shoulders as she washed unseen blood between her fingers. It flashed, but she bit down on pain and considered the wall.

I can do this. I'll find a way out of this.

Time continued, and she dried herself off before putting on her uniform. Never free from the loops, she ruffled out her short hair before shoving her pajama's into the laundry pod. It might not have done much, but I feel better. Nova rolled her shoulders while Neo made station breakfast.

"Oh, I want to tug your ear a bit," he said with a wave and rushed over to his desk to pull out a giant book. "I found this in the station's research files."

It tugged with familiarity, another thing she never remembered. "What?"

He opened it, and she frowned at the pictures. "Is this... a storybook?"

"A Xelnodian storybook," Neo said with a grin and bouncy excitement. "I mean, it was in the research archives for a reason, right? Pretty good read too. Anyway, I thought since there is Xelnod script on the anomaly, I wanted to see if there was any mention. And I got lucky."

"Really?" Nova jolted.

"I mean, it doesn't tell us what the thing is, but what it does tell me is a possible purpose of it," he said. "I realised very quickly the script on the anomaly might not quite match Xelnod. It's Precursor writing. Which... possibly dates the anomaly to the birth of our galaxy, at least. Maybe older."

Nova squinted. "Precursor."

Neo nodded and opened to another page. "Just humour me," he echoed. "It's a very interesting read, at least, even if it's unrelated. You see, the Precursor's somehow... had keys to the sea of time."

Nova widened her eyes.

"Well, I say keys, they're more like gates," he explained. "Gates into the knowledge of space and time."

"Literal keys?"

Neo bounced his head. "Not quite," he explained. "Obviously, you don't want to fiddle with the sea of space-time."

Tell me about it.

"So, to counteract the possibility, these 'gates'... chose Precursor's," he said. "In the story, they were sentient. These gates were alive." He smiled down at it. "It was a symbiotic sort of relationship. In choosing these Precursors, they defended the sea of time from those who... wanted to mess with it, more or less. In turn, they gained... some sort of ability to let them do that. It is just a story though, I just thought it was interesting to get some more perspective and hypothesise. You know, like cool Time Knights, or Time Defenders, Time Warriors? What sounds cooler?"

"You are very fascinated with a storybook," Nova mumbled.

"I am, even if it might not be possible. It could just be metaphors, we have proof that the precursors certainly existed a very long time ago, but no evidence that these tales of them were based in fact and reality." He nodded down at it. "They were called 'Kairos'."

"So much for Time Knights," Nova said.

"They were called by several names. But that's the one that popped up the most, so I took note of it." Neo shrugged. "I don't know... just thought you'd find it interesting."

It doesn't say how to stop time loops.

"It is pretty interesting," she muttered to lift a smile on his face. "So, you've been reading that just for a bedtime story?"

"Yep. And for research purposes... but mostly bedtime stories." Neo closed the book and put it back in his desk before chewing his regulated meal bar. "So, what are you going to do since you're up early?"

"I have to go check something with the droid."

"Mm." Neo finished. "You might have to wait for the clearance, but I'll see if I can't annoy people into giving you a closer look. But I won't say anything if you want to take matters into your own hands."

Where do I even start now? Nova ate her own breakfast. "What about the anomaly?"

"I'll figure it out when I get there." Neo rubbed his brow. "It shouldn't have changed."

That's all it's been doing. Nova emptied everything into the sink, but stopped when Neo leaned against his desk. "Neo?"

A few silent moments passed, but the weary smile returned. Ghostly torment spiralled into the grey nebula. "That food tasted weird."

"Not... really, not anymore than it usually does." Nova headed for him. "Are you—"

He stepped past her, and she jolted when his lips parted and tarry crimson slipped down them. He made it to the wash station sink, and then threw up into it.

Oh, no...

Nova rushed for his side and snagged a cloth from the upper rack as he leaned on his arms and fought for breath. She pressed the cloth deeper into his brow, and set a hand on his back to wait out the sudden storm.

What?

He swayed on his feet after the fleeting moment passed. Her heart fell at what left his mouth.

Blood, but something twisted along it. Unfathomable. It splashed into the darkness of the black hole, and with her own shaking hand, she turned on the sink to wash it down the drain for purification. It sliced through the red, a taunt for her hope.

Oh, Neo. Nova rubbed circles on his back as he choked on whatever clung onto his system. Keeping the cloth against his head, she scowled at the ripped colours. It fell silent. "Neo?"

He inhaled and leaned into her hand. Her fingers grabbed another cloth to push into his hand so he could wipe his mouth. Nova waited.

"You were going to ask me something?" he whispered softly with a tired smile. "I don't feel alright."

Nova lowered the cloth over his eyes and steadied him when he slumped. It couldn't have been that simple. I knew something would go wrong. Nova wrapped an arm around his middle when he went for another round into the running sink. Long moments and lost time.

He wiped off his face once more, nothing more than a ghost to time.

He straightened himself out with a small sigh as the water stole the crimson. He tipped back into her, and Nova braced herself when she found herself pulled to the floor from his dead-weight. "You need to sit for a minute."

"No, I need to get my report..." He leaned against the wall with a wince. "Nova, what time is it?"

"Just give yourself a minute." It tore her throat at the weight of time when it ticked on without them. Things she had to change, to relearn. Nova opened her wristpad to show him. "See? You have time."

Confusion dripped down his brow. "I thought I had less..." He brushed his hand through his hair. "Right..."

Nova helped him to his feet, but he slumped forward again. "You really need to slow down," she instructed and guided him out of the wash station. "In fact, you should get some more shut eye."

"But, the anomaly..."

Nova pursed her lips at his empty voice. "I can go in your stead. I can explain the situation. I'm sure they'll understand." And this will give me a chance to see if the anomaly will react to me.

Or show that you only vaporized the original breach... and not... not what I think happened. Let me be wrong for once.

She half-expected an argument, but he nodded into his hand. "Okay..." He searched through his pockets and pushed an infodrive into her hands. "Take this. It'll do everything for you. Just place it in one of the arrays, and I'll come over once..." He breathed deep. "I'm less sick to my stomach."

Nova pocketed it while he stood there, lost in floating space.

She embraced him to ground him in the moment. "Feel better, Neo. I'll feel bad if you're sick."

More than I already do.

Neo returned her embrace with a noise of affirmation. Held in a moment of time, she clapped his shoulder. "Go rest."

For once.

Without argument, he drifted to the bedroom, and Nova held the infodrive to her chest.

Let's see what I can learn from this missing piece.